Greg Mitchell's Blog, page 202

Scahill-Greenwald Team Up

Big AP story just now on two of the best diggers, Jeremy Scahill and Glenn Greenwald, joining forces to probe top secret U.S. "assassination" program, which could mean a lot of things and cover a lot, or not.  Here's the AP scoop:

Jeremy Scahill, a contributor to The Nation magazine and the New York Times best-selling author of "Dirty Wars," said he will be working with Glenn Greenwald, the Rio-based journalist who has written stories about U.S. surveillance programs based on documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

"The connections between war and surveillance are clear. I don't want to give too much away but Glenn and I are working on a project right now that has at its center how the National Security Agency plays a significant, central role in the U.S. assassination program," said Scahill, speaking to moviegoers in Rio de Janeiro, where the documentary based on his book made its Latin American debut at the Rio Film Festival.

"There are so many stories that are yet to be published that we hope will produce 'actionable intelligence,' or information that ordinary citizens across the world can use to try to fight for change, to try to confront those in power," said Scahill.

A High Note on 'Sopranos'

We finally finished re-watching all of "The Sopranos" episodes last night in order from season one.  (Oddly, we almost went to see the new Gandolfini flick in the afternoon.)  Certainly a revealing and rewarding way to do it and, yes, I'd forgotten so much (e.g. Adriana getting whacked much earlier than I'd thought).  The Cleaver movie pitch and shoot was wild and, of course, Chris and Little Carmine's sit-down with Ben Kingsley in Hollywood, and the swag bags, could hardly be funnier.  In final episode we see A.J. listening to Dylan's "It's Alright Ma" in his SUV--before it explodes in flames.  And so on. 

Naturally, after final episode, I searched and found what claims to be--and seems to be--"the definitive" take on the final shot.  Read it here, and the clip below.  No, I've never owned a Members Only jacket so don't look at me.

Man's World? Still?

New commercial aired on SNL with a bit of this, in smooth version, so you might enjoy the sweaty original.  Shorter version.  I can also recommend the live Van Morrison version.

The Coming Thing

N
YT's Sunday review section not only gives us an assessment of Bob Dylan's chances for a Nobel--but also a full exploration, so to speak, of the current thinking on women and "spontaneous orgasm."  Yes, it was once embraced, so to speak, then debunked--by Masters and Johnson, who get their own show on Showtime tomorrow night--and now gaining fresh respect.  "At Rutgers, Dr. Komisaruk expanded his research to brain scans. In 2003, the first images confirmed the earlier study. Pleasure centers lit up more or less identically whether the women reached sexual highs by hand stimulation or by erotic thoughts."  And then there's Tantra....

Ring Them Nobels

Big NYT op-ed just up by Bill Wyman (no, not the Stones' bassist) on Bob Dylan's strong candidacy for Nobel Prize.  I've pushed Leonard Cohen for this, since unlike Bob he is an honored novelist and poet (beyond song poetry).  Anyway, Wyman lists the strikes against him and the many plusses.

Concludes:

If the academy doesn’t recognize Bob Dylan — a bard who embodied the most significant cultural upheaval of the second half of the last century — it will squander its best chance to honor a pop poet. What other songwriter would remotely qualify? Joni Mitchell or Leonard Cohen? Perhaps. Randy Newman? Chuck D? (In truth, the only other pop artist with work as timeless as Mr. Dylan’s is Chuck Berry — but that’s an argument for another day.) With his superstar peers either silent or content to collect the big bucks playing ingratiating stadium shows, this artist, iconoclastic and still vital, demands that we take the product of his muse on his own terms, and refuses to go so gently.

Fathers' Day

Probably few know that "The Father of Modern Jazz" and "The Father of Country Music" recorded a song together one day in 1930.  Here Louis Armstrong re-creates his session with Jimmie Rodgers--aided by another legend, Mr. Johnny Cash.

How the Media Is Getting Gov't Shutdown and Debt Ceiling 'Debates' Wrong

Probably the smartest thing you'll read today, from James Fallows.  He hits media on this but does provide links to a few folks who have gotten it right.  Read the whole thing as he traces a historic fiasco we haven't seen in decades, maybe over a century, but here's excerpt:

As a matter of journalism, any story that presents the disagreements as a "standoff," a "showdown," a "failure of leadership," a sign of "partisan gridlock," or any of the other usual terms for political disagreement, represents a failure of journalism and an inability to see or describe what is going on....This isn't "gridlock." It is a ferocious struggle within one party, between its traditionalists and its radical factions, with results that unfortunately can harm all the rest of us -- and, should there be a debt default, could harm the rest of the world too...

In case the point is not clear yet: there is no post-Civil War precedent for what the House GOP is doing now. It is radical, and dangerous for the economy and our process of government, and its departure from past political disagreements can't be buffed away or ignored. If someone can think of a precedent after the era of John C. Calhoun, let me know.

Shutdown Looks More Likely

Bulletin just now from NYT:  "House Republican leaders presented their rank and file with a proposal for a one-year delay of President Obama’s health care law and a permanent repeal of its tax on medical devices to attach to the Senate’s bill to keep the government running through Nov. 15. If accepted by the Republican caucus and passed by the House, the package would all but assure that much of the government will shut down on Tuesday. Senate Democratic leaders have made clear that they will accept no such scaling back of the health care law."

Call for Help?

Homeless man and ad for new iPhones, NYC, this week. 

Band Aid Coming

Great to see new box set of The Band's complete legendary 1971 live performances at New York's old Academy of Music (I was there) that came in the old Rock of Ages double-record set, which Robbie Robertson re-mixed--plus he talks of a new Basement Tapes set, hopefully including some of the dozens of still-unreleased songs (I have all the bootlegs).   Here's one of the greatest live performances by anyone, from the Academy of Music gig.